Eternity in Her Arms
by Attropus
Summary: A collection of one-shots focusing on Korrasami. Current Story: "The Letter" - Asami breezes through life while Korra is away at the South Pole. During the day, she is the perfect image of a beautiful/successful business mogul. But, when she revives a letter from Korra, she's just a heartbroken girl.
1. Through The Portal

**Summary:** Korra and Asami head to the Spirit World portal in the ruins of Republic City. Feeling confused about their emotions, but excited for an adventure together. This is just the beginning. *For the utmost enjoyment, watch the final LOK episode before reading :) *

* * *

 **Spirit World Vacation - Through The Portal**

Asami stopped and looked up at the spirit portal glowing in front of her. Her lips parted slightly in awe. Somehow, this one seemed different than the one at the North Pole. It seemed more beautiful even with the ruins of Republic City as it's backdrop. Spirits all around them paused to watch them as they passed by, not with malice, but with curiosity. That was a welcome change, to be sure, and Asami eyed them with equal interest. She had never seen so many spirits in one place! A new age of peace between man and spirits had dawned, and it was all thanks to the woman standing at her side. The most amazing person she knew, her friend, Avatar Korra. No, Asami thought to herself, her...something more...

What was Korra to her? This was something she had yet to figure out. What she did know was this: through all the turmoil of the last few months, Korra was the only light she could see in the darkness of the world. Her face hardened, memories of the battle with Kuvira swirled around her mind. The last words of her father rang in her ears. Asami swallowed hard and bit her lip to hold back her tears. He had gotten his goodbye, but she hadn't gotten hers. It was unfair, cruel even, to lose him right after they had reconciled. Just as she felt she couldn't hold back her tears, Asami felt Korra's gaze fall on her and those sparkling blue orbs lifted the weight of the world from her shoulders. One look from Korra made her feel so safe, like nothing in the world could ever bring her down again, even as she was struggling to cope with the loss of her father. Korra's eyes told her she had gained something in spite of everything that had been torn from her. But what? Only time would answer that question, but for now she took the lighter-than-air feeling she got from being at Korra's side as a sign that everything would be okay. Asami's breathing steadied and her lips twitched upward into a slight smile. She met Korra's excited eyes with her own.

Korra looked over at Asami. Her heart thudded wildly against her chest. Maybe it was all the letters they'd exchanged, maybe it was all the time apart, or maybe it was something else entirely that Korra couldn't comprehend, but something had changed between them. She saw the expression on Asami's face soften significantly when their eyes locked. Korra smiled, happy that she had been able to help alleviate her friend's suffering with nothing more than a simple gaze. She figured that it was only a temporary fix, but it was better than nothing. The Avatar knew she would figure out how to help Asami though her pain completely in time, she was sure of it. Asami's smile brightened, her eyes twinkling in the golden glow of the spirit portal. The sight took Korra's breath away. Try as she might, the words on the tip of her tongue refused to budge.

Korra reached for Asami's hand and jumped a bit in surprise when Asami's hand met hers halfway. Korra looked down at their interlocked hands and then back into Asami's eyes. She was suddenly overcome with a strong urge to pull the other girl into her arms and hold her. She didn't get a chance. Before she was able to build up the courage to do so, Asami pulled her lightly toward the portal. Korra fell in step with her best friend, and they passed into the portal together. They stood face to face with eyes locked. Korra reached for Asami's other hand and took it. It seemed to her that Asami had been reaching for her, too, as Korra didn't have to outstretch her arm far before running into the other girl's hand. Korra closed her eyes as she felt the energy changing around them. The cold air of the Republic City night was replaced by the warm glow of the spirit world. Korra knew that this warmth was directly connected to what she was feeling for Asami. As the Avatar, her emotional state affected all aspects of the Spirit World, including the weather. It wasn't like how the sunshine felt in the Physical World, moreover, it was different than the many times she'd been here before. It warmed her skin, like ordinary sunlight, but it was a warmth that reached to her very soul.

Korra suddenly found her hands devoid of Asami's warmth. She didn't have to go long without it. A moment later the other girl wrapped her arms around Korra in a tight embrace. Asami's soft lips meet hers. Korra breathed in sharply, surprised by the unexpected intimacy. Asami held her tightly by the waist and slid her hand up Korra's back until it was tangled in her brown locks. Korra, for her part, was able to wrap her arms around Asami in return, in spite of being caught off guard by the kiss. This was the closest they had ever been, and Korra drank the moment in deeply. She never wanted it to end.

The blinding light of the spirit portal faded. Asami pulled back from the kiss, breathlessly. She couldn't believe that she had let herself get so caught up in the moment that she had actually kissed Korra. At least her unconscious actions answered the question her mind had failed to answer many times over. The question of what Korra was to Asami. Asami wanted Korra to be her best friend, that was still true, but now it was clear to her that she wanted Korra as her lover, too. The feelings denied for so long finally manifested into action, but what would happen now? Asami bit her lip and studied Korra's reaction with bated breath.

Korra's cheeks burned crimson. She looked over at Asami in silence, unsure if that kiss had been real or imagined. Korra's voice failed her, so in place of words she used a cocked eyebrow to ask all of the unspoken questions darting around her brain.

Asami averted her eyes in embarrassment. Korra looked far from pleased. On the contrary, she looked baffled. Asami feared that she had ruined their vacation before it had even started. Her mind raced, trying to come up with some excuse, any excuse, that would explain her actions. It was no use. She wouldn't be able to come up with something fast enough. It would be best to just admit her error in judgment.

"Korra…" Asami hesitated. "I'm really sorry. That was stupid." The words spilled out of her in a flash. "I just thought we were on the same page and-" Korra's lips stopped her apology short.

Korra pulled away almost as quickly as she dove in to steal one more kiss. Her lips turned upward into a cautious smile at the sight of Asami's confused, but happy looking expression. "We are definitely on the same page." She placed her hands into Asami's, assuring the other girl with a gentle squeeze. She chuckled before looking away in nervousness. "Ever since I returned to Republic City I've wanted that...I was just too scared to make the first move myself."

Relief swept over Asami like a tidal wave. Tears streamed from her eyes freely and she pulled one hand from Korra's grasp to wipe them away. She had been right after all, but the fear of rejection had paralyzed them both. Asami smiled through her tears. Finally, Korra was hers and she was the Avatar's in return. This vacation was turning out better than she could have ever imagined, and it had hardly even begun.

Korra's heart burst and she threw her arms around Asami. The last thing she wanted was to see Asami cry again. She held her until all but the last of Asami's tears dried up. Korra removed her arms from around Asami's waist and slid her hands up behind the other girl's neck. She pulled Asami's head forward gently, until their foreheads touched. WIth her thumbs, Korra wiped away the remaining tears streaming down Asami's cheeks. The looked at each other for a long moment and giggled in the rapture of newfound love for one another.

"Let's go." Korra led Asami by the hand into the same field of purple flowers where she and Kuvira had reconciled after the battle for Republic City a few days prior. It amazed Korra that the same place where she had faced her greatest foe was also the same place where she was falling in love. It was fitting. This place was far more suited for love than battle. Korra blushed at her own thoughts. She never considered herself to be the romantic type.

Asami slowly scanned her surroundings. The giant mountains of ice surrounding them made her feel so small. But, with Korra at her side, even in her insecurities, she felt safe.

Was it even ice at all, she wondered. They were in the spirit world, after all; it could all be an illusion for all she knew. She leaned down and picked one of the purple flowers. Upon closer examination, she noticed small, glowing, blue flecks on the petals. Spirit Word or not, something this beautiful had to be real. The scent of the flower floated upward and she breathed in the sweetness of it.

Korra released Asami's hand to allow her to study the flower further. With the way Asami analyzed the flower in such detail, it was no wonder she had been able to create some of the greatest marvels of their age. Korra couldn't take her eyes off the girl kneeling at her feet. The way Asami's eyes lit up in concentration...those eyes were too stunning to look away from.

Asami poked the lighter center of the flower. The petals almost seemed to squeal as they close around her finger. Delighted, pulled the flower from around her index finger and laughed. The petals, previously appearing inanimate, took the form of butterflies and flew off in several different directions.

Although Korra had been here many times before, she smiled in new found joy at the wonders of the Spirit World. There was no doubt that exploring the Spirit World with Asami was going to be very different compared to the other times she had been here. All of a sudden, Korra realized that she had never come here for fun, even once. It was a shame, but at least Asami was giving as good a reason as any to spend some time in the Spirit World without having to worry about her Avatar duties. Korra watched poke and prod the little spirit flower joyfully. No doubt, she would learn more about the Spirit World than she should ever have been able learn on her own, thanks to Asami's analytical nature. It was funny to think that anyone could teach her, the link between worlds, anything new about the Spirit World. It would happen, though. Of this, Korra had no doubt. She just hoped she'd be able to learn quite a bit more about Asami in the process. They'd been separated for so long. A good number of things were bound to have changed. Their feelings for each other for one. Korra's mind spun round and round.

Asami turned away from the stem in her hand to ask Korra what she knew about the flower and why it had morphed into several different spirits, but she stopped short. The Avatar's eyes were fixed on her. Suddenly, she felt very self-conscious. Asami cleared her throat. "Korra?"

"Hmm?"

"You're staring…" Asami tucked a lock of stray hair behind her ear and blushed.

"You got a problem with that?" Korra put her hands on her hips and smirked. Her outer confidence was nothing like her tumbling and tittering insides. She had no idea how she was even pulling off this faux-suaveness right now. Much less, maintaining her composure. Korra reasoned that she must be dreaming. There was no way something like this could be real.

Asami giggled and plucked another flower from the ground. She stood and placed the flower behind Korra's ear. "Not at all." She whispered into the same ear, before planting a kiss on Korra's cheek.

The coolness Korra had displayed just a moment before evaporated in an instant. It was replaced by a big goofy grin plastered on the Avatar's face. She was falling hard.

"So," Asami placed a hand on her hip and looked over her shoulder a the Spirit Portal. "This is what I was missing out on every time you went to the Spirit World."

"Nice, isn't it?" Korra away from Asami and out toward the vastness of the Spirit World.

Asami took a step toward the Avatar and followed her gaze. "It's lovely."

They stood together in silence. The Spirit World stretched out before them. A grand adventure surely awaited them out there.

Asami couldn't tear her eyes away from the beauty all around them, so she blindly reached out for Korra's hand. When she found it, the matter of interlocking their hands together was simple. Korra's hand molded into hers in an instant. The sun beat down on them with an almost unbearable heat. Asami had to remind herself, again, that it wasn't the real sun. Nonetheless, it's radiance easily outshined the one in the Real World. Some gnarled trees in the distance caught her eye. They lacked leaves, but, the shade of the trunk could still shield them from the heat.

"Lets rest a bit before heading further in." Asami pointed toward the trees with her free hand.

"Sounds good."

Asami tugged on Korra's hand. They took off toward the trees at a jog, laughing in carefree bliss. By the time they reached the trees, Asami was taking in deep gulps of air to catch her breath. She let go of Korra's hand and and put both her hands above her head to open up her lungs.

Korra removed her pack, plopped down on the ground in exhaustion. She, too, was breathing heavily, though she didn't know why, they hadn't run very far at all. Korra leaned back into the trunk of the tree. The gnarled parts dug into her back and it took her a moment to adjust and get comfortable. When she was situated, Korra found herself staring at Asami again, but this time with much more intention. Her gaze meandered along the curves of Asami's slim frame until she had surveyed all that there was to see. A hunger gripped her. She wanted to do so much more than just look. The feelings spinning around inside her were more intense than Korra ever recalled feeling for anyone else.

Asami dropped her arms and smiled back at Korra. Upon seeing the look in Korra's eyes, a blushed graced her features. She knew that look very well. Many men throughout Republic City had laid eyes like that upon her. Desirous eyes; eyes that always wanted so much more than she willing to give. A euphoric jolt of excitement shivered up her spine. It had been a very long time since she had wanted to fulfill the desires of another completely. Asami wanted - no, her stomach twisted viciously in yearning - she needed to know all of Korra's deepest desires. She would start by getting to know every inch of the woman in front of her, mentally and physically. Asami walked over to where Korra was sitting and lowered herself down next to her.

"Hey." Korra greeted. Her voice low and husky.

Asami laughed and rolled her eyes. "Hey." She imitated Korra's voice.

Korra blushed. "Sorry. I'm just-"

"Korra." Asami placed a hand on the Avatar's arm.

"Yes?" Korra took Asami by the hand.

Asami leaned into Korra and whispered in her ear. "Stop talking…"

Korra sighed and closed her eyes. A sense of calm washed over her. Just being here with Asami was all she needed at that moment. Knowing that she had Asami's expressed consent for silence made being by her side all the more exhilarating. Nothing she could possibly say would add to the experience.

Asami snuggled closer into the curves of Korra's body until there was no space at all left between them.

Korra adjusted her body so that she could place an arm around Asami's waist. She yawned. Exhaustion from the past few days was finally starting to set in. Korra nuzzled her face into Asami's dark locks. Her breathing steadied and her breathing slowly became more shallow. She couldn't keep her eyes open for a second longer.

"Maybe we should stay here for the night?" Asami stoked Korra's cheek with her hand. "It's not like we're on a schedule."

"Mmm." Korra mumbled in an approving tone.

Asami's eyelids were drooping, too, but roused herself. "I'll just set up the tent and-" She felt Korra fingers wrap around her wrist and with one swift pull from the Avatar, she was back on the ground.

Korra enveloped Asami's waist tightly in arms and squeezed tightly. "Tents are overrated."

Asami giggled. She wriggled around inside Korra's iron grip to face the girl. Their noses were just barely touching. The thought of sleeping without a tent made her a little uncomfortable. She supposed that it would be fine if the weather held up. "Does it rain in the spirit world?"

"Not tonight, it won't." Korra tilted her head to the side and pressed her lips against Asami.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hi all! Just in case you are wondering, I am planning on writing more "Spirit World Vacation" Stories, but I didn't want to make them into a full fic, cuz I'm super spastic, and didn't feel like writing them all in one go. I hope you enjoy this collection! I have so many Korrasami feels that I need to get out :)**


	2. The Letter

**Task:** Show two very different sides of one person's personality.

 **Prompts:** (word) torn, (object) mirror, (taste) pineapple, (smell) fresh fruit

 **Word Count:** 3094

 **Main Characters:** Asami

 **Summary:** Asami breezes through life while Korra is away at the South Pole. During the day, she is the perfect image of a beautiful/successful business mogul. But, when she revives a letter from Korra, she's just a heartbroken girl.

* * *

 **The Letter**

Asami leaned back in her cushy, leather office chair. She raised her arms into the air in a comically large stretch. Nobody was around, she could afford to let down her corporate persona for a second. More than that, if she got lucky. Unfortunately, she wasn't usually that lucky. Without a doubt, someone would come knocking at her door any moment. She looked over at the door, half expecting to see some sign that someone was out there right now, their hand poised in the air, about to knock. The harsh rapping of knuckles on wood never came. She sighed and got back to work.

That was just how things worked for the CEO of the largest and wealthiest company in Republic City. Asami thrived off of the energy most of the time, but it made getting any work done that required quiet concentration nearly impossible. The thought of taking some of the paperwork home to look over her crossed her mind for the nth time today. But like every time before, Asami decided against that course of action. She knew concentrating at home wasn't going to be a possibility, either. There were too many memories there, and she got lost in them every night. She bit her lip, worry for Korra welled up in her chest.

"Miss Sato?"

Asami looked up from her papers with a start. All of the muscles in her body tensed for a fight, but relaxed just a quickly when she saw it was just her secretary, Akash. She leaned back in her chair and placed a hand over her heart. "Oh. It's just you."

"Apologies for startling you, Miss Sato." He bowed slightly. "I thought you might be hungry." He glanced up at Asami. Attentively waiting for her answer.

Asami tried to think back to the last time she ate. But, after quickly running through the last three days in her mind, she couldn't recall stopping to eat once. It was odd, though, as she didn't feel hungry in the slightest. The fact that she couldn't remember the last time she ate was disturbing. She was responsible for the livelihoods too many people to drop the ball in that way. Taking care of herself was just as important to Future Industries as any of her inventions, if not more so. It was important to get something nutritious in her system, so she could keep up with the blistering pace of life in Republic City.

"Just bring me something light and healthy. I'm not too hungry." Asami picked up a red pen from a coffee cup full of writing utensils and got back to work before her mind started to wander again.

"Right away." Akash turned on his heels and was gone from the room to procure Asami's meal.

Asami hunched over her work. It was time to put her nose to the grindstone.

Akash returned to see Asami completely engrossed with her task, so he placed the fruit and cheese platter he was holding onto the only corner of the desk free of papers and left without a word.

The smell of fresh fruit made Asami's mouth water. She reached over to the platter, her eyes kept their laser focus on her papers. Multi-tasking was a must in this business. Asami plucked the first bit of food that touched her fingers off of the platter and popped it into her mouth. She bit down on the morsel and an explosion of sweet, pineapple flavor permeated her taste buds. A small moan escaped her lips and the tenseness in her shoulders released just a little. Asami's stomach grumbled in approval. Had it really been that long since she'd eaten? She still couldn't believe she'd been that irresponsible. It didn't matter now, she told herself. The food was here now. And she'd take care of herself moving forward. Or would try harder, at any rate. She continued to pick at the plater.

Editing, signing, stamping. The pile of paper on Asami's desk started to shrink. Stamping more, editing more, editing even more, more signing. Asami paused to massage her temples. A small sip of water. She wished for something stronger, but it was much too early for that. Stamping, signing. Editing. So many things to stamp. Her arm grew tired from the whole affair.

"Miss Sato?"

Asami looked up from her papers. It was Akash again. Hadn't he just disturbed her a moment ago? "Yes?"

"President Raiko has arrived."

It was far too early for her meeting with the president. She'd only just arrived, and Raiko was not the punctual type. Asami looked over at the clock. When the time on its face registered, Asami jumped to her feet. Several hours had flown by. She was the one who was nearly an hour late for their meeting.

Asami walked over to her floor length mirror. "How long has he been waiting?" She straightened her clothes and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail.

Akash walked over to Asami. He produced a lint brush from his sleeve and ran it over Asami's outfit. "Not too long, ma'am."

For once, Asami was happy about the president's lack of punctuality. She gave Akash a nod. "Thank you. Bring him in."

"Of course." Akash stopped brushing for lint and strode out the door.

Asami took one last look in the mirror. Everything was in it's proper place. She walked back to her desk and straightened the remaining papers. She sighed in relief. The stacks looked much more manageable. It wouldn't take her too much time to finish up after her meeting.

The knob of office door clicked. Asami crossed to the front of her desk and placed her arms behind her back. She always made sure the first image visitors saw of her was a one of strength.

Akash entered and held the door open for the president.

Asami put on her winningest smile. Raiko had never been her favorite person, but for the sake of appearances - and, more importantly, for the sake of her company - she had schmooze a bit. "President Raiko," Asami took a few steps forward and extended her hand. "I apologize for the delay. Shall we get started?"

Raiko took Asami's hand and shook firmly. "Yes. Indeed. What do you have to show me today?"

"If you'll follow me, sir, I can show you our most recent scale model of Central City Station. It has all the changes we discussed last week." Asami gestured toward the door and they headed in that directions while continuing their conversation. "Plus a few extra modifications I added myself. I think you'll be pleased."

"Well, I certainly hope so. After all these iterations, is this project even on track to be finished before Prince Wu's coronation?"

Asami ignored his indignant tone. Now wasn't the time to be offended by an old man's ignorance, it was time to do business. And she wanted to keep this contract, it was too public to lose without some backlash from the public, even knowing Future Industries was in a financial position to be selective with its clientele. "I guarantee we can have the retrofitting completed long before the coronation."

President Raiko nodded. Asami held the door open for him and they walked into the hallway.

Raiko smoothed his mustache. "Even if the current iteration should need more adjustments?"

"Yes, Mr. President. Prince Wu's coronation is still a little more than a year away. As long as we begin sometime in the next few months, we'll be able to complete the remodel with plenty of time to spare. That leave plenty of time to adapt our current design."

"Good."

Asami missed the paperwork already. It was more interesting than talking with President Raiko by a longshot.

* * *

As soon as she was out of the crowded streets of downtown Republic City, Asami pressed down gas. Slowly, until there was no space between her foot and the floor. The exhilaration brought on by breakneck speeds was irreplaceable. And after a long, stressful day, speed was the best way to start the night.

It was still light out, but just barely. Asami rarely ever left the office before dark. She decided to celebrate by taking the long way home. The tires screeched around tight mountain curves. The roar of the engine muted even the sound of the wind on the long straightaways. Asami's lips curved upward into a slight smile.

By the time Asami pulled up the long driveway of the Sato Estate, she was breathless and wide awake. Her hands were shaking so violently, she could barely get them off of the steering wheel.

"Did you have a good day, Miss Sato?" One of Asami's servants opened the driver side door for her to exit the vehicle.

"Yes," Asami took a deep breath, "thank you." She would never dream to bother her staff with how she was really feeling. Pleasantries were more than enough. Asami removed her driving gloves and placed them in her bag. "Make sure she get a oil change before tomorrow, the engine seems a bit too loud."

He bowed. "Of course, Miss Sato."

Asami jogged up the stairs. She knew getting to sleep would be impossible after such a rousing joyride. To make the best use of her time, she wanted to start brainstorming some plausible solutions to the new issues President Raiko had brought up in regards to Central City Station in their meeting today. It would be a waste to not do something productive with this energy. Several ideas were bouncing around in her head, and she needed to get them down on paper before they escaped her.

When she reached the front door, it opened. Takahashi, her longest running and most trusted employee, greeted her with a smile. "Good evening, Miss Sato. Would you like to take dinner tonight?"

"No. I have some work I need to-" Asami remembered the promise she made to herself that morning. She needed to take better care of herself. "Actually, I'll take it in my study."

"As you wish ma'am." He bowed.

Asami started to head up the stairs.

"There is another matter, Miss Sato."

She stopped and half turned back toward Takahashi in mid-stride. "Oh? What is it?"

"A letter arrived for you today…"

Asami cocked an eyebrow at him. It certainly wasn't unusual for her to receive several letters a day. In fact, she had most prescreened to ensure that they were worth taking time out of her busy schedule to answer. Most of them weren't worth that kind of time. For Takahashi to mention something that was typically unimportant, it must be a letter of some significance. As far as Asami could recall, she wasn't expecting any important documents to be sent by mail.

"...from Avatar Korra." Takahashi pulled an envelope from his inside suit pocket.

Asami blinked a couple of times to ensure that she wasn't imagining the plain, white envelope in Takahashi's hand. A dizzy spell overcame her, and she had to grab the stair railing to maintain her balance. After writing Korra every week since she returned to the South Pole and never receiving a response, she had a hard time believing that her friend had finally - and quite suddenly - written her back. Asami eyed the broken seal. Although it was Takahashi's job to view her mail, anger welled up in her gut at the thought of him viewing such a personal correspondence.

"You read it?"

Takahashi must have seen the rage in his mistress's eyes. He was quick to beg her perdon. "Forgive me, Miss Sato. I knew it was of great importance to you. I wanted to ensure that it was truly from the Avatar. It wouldn't have been the first letter addressed to you that claimed to be written by her. Some people do some horrendous things to have their voice heard. This one, however, seems legitimate." He walked to an arms length of Asami and extended the letter to her.

Asami reached for the letter with a trembling hand. Her thumb and index finger pinched down around the envelope in an iron grip and she pulled the letter back toward her chest. She couldn't believe people would do that to her. Sending her letters in Korra's name just so she would read them sooner! Takahashi had been protecting her this whole time. Asami cleared her throat. She tried to make it as devoid of emotion as possible, but was unable to stop her voice from cracking. "Thank you."

"Is there anything else you require of me, ma'am?"

"Just a question: What do you do with all the fake letters?"

Takahashi's stern face twitched. "Straight into the fireplace."

A stifled laugh escaped Asami's lips. "Good man."

Takahashi bowed and turned toward the kitchen.

"One more thing, actually." Asami yelled from the foot of the stairs. "No one is to bother me for the rest of the evening."

"And dinner?"

She clutched the letter more tightly to her breast. "I've suddenly lost my appetite."

He bowed once more. "As you wish."

Asami turned away from him and ran up the stairs. Now that she had Korra's letter in her hands, everything was different. Work could wait. The most important thing for her was to read this letter as soon as possible and send a reply off to Korra at the South Pole. Asami tore into the study and plopped down in her chair. She turned the desk lamp for reading, but was otherwise sitting in darkness. Asami held out the envelope with both hands. It was almost oppressively bright under the yellow light. Asami had to wait a moment while her eyes adjusted. All of the waiting - all of the grief - just for this tiny piece of paper.

Without even opening the envelope she could tell it was the real deal. It was from Korra and no one else. There was no mistaking Korra's messy scrawl addressing the letter to the United Republic of Nation, Republic City, Sato Estate, and finally, to Asami herself. Asami's bottom lip quivered and a single tear ran down her cheek. She had given up hope of Korra sending a letter to her in return.

Asami couldn't wait any longer. She turned the envelope over, flipped open the broken seal, and pulled its contents out. It took several deep breaths before Asami felt she was ready to read Korra's words, but when Asami finally started, she devoured them:

 _Dear Asami,_

 _I'm sorry I haven't written to you sooner, but everytime I've tried, I never know what to say. These past two years have been the hardest of my life. Even though I can get around fine now, I still can't go into the avatar state. I keep having these visions of Zaheer and what happened that day. Katara thinks a lot of this is in my head, so I've been meditating a lot, but sometimes I worry I'll never fully recover. Please tell Mako and Bolin that I wrote to you and not them. I don't want to hurt their feelings, but it's easier to tell you about this stuff. I don't think they'd understand._

 _That's great about your big contract. Republic City really needs you. I'm more than a little envious._

 _I miss you, too. It shouldn't be too much longer until I return, so hang in there._

 _With Love,_

 _Korra_

Asami looked at the back of the page expectantly, but frowned when she saw that it was blank. It was true that Korra had closed the letter, but it seemed too short. Asami wanted to know so much more. She wanted to know everything! She longed to see Korra again. Her goofy eyes, her sparkling blue eyes, her - everything. Tears were streaming down her face, now, and they showed no sign of abating.

In lieu of more content, Asami did the only thing she could do to feel closer to Korra. She read the letter again.

Asami's heart ached for Korra. Although, her friend had said so very little, each word spoke volumes of the deep depression the Avatar was experiencing. After reading her letter, it was easy for her to forgive Korra for not writing sooner. It clearly had taken all the strength Korra had just to send this letter. In place of anger, Asami felt pride. Korra had chosen to write to her over Mako, Bolin, and anyone else. It validated all of the feelings she'd been expereince since Korra had left. The feelings that caused an uncontrollable torrent of tears. The feelings that she tried to hide from by losing herself in her work.

Asami leaned back in her chair and placed her face in her hands. Asami had done her best to avoid thinking about Korra. She didn't want to confront her feelings, but now they were staring her right in the face, and the love she held for Korra was strong. Frighteningly strong.

From the drawers of her desk, Asami took a black piece of paper and a pen. She wrote:

 _Dear Korra,_

Asami grunted in frustration and tore up the paper. She pulled out another blank page and tried again:

 _Korra,_

 _I love you._

She slammed her head into the desktop. Asami couldn't say that! Even if that was how she felt, it was too blunt. She shredded that one with even more predigest than the first paper.

Asami pulled out an entire stack of blank paper. She looked down at the two torn up pages at her feet. This must have been what Korra was talking about when she said she never knew what to say. There were so many things to say, but finding the right words - or just having the courage to say the words Asami already knew were the right ones - was too difficult.

The pen she had been using clattered on the desktop and Asami got down on hands and knees. The light from her desk lamp didn't extended all the way to the ground, so Asami had to use touch to find all . Once she gathered all the torn bits, Asami sat back down at her desk and laid all of the tiny pieces out. It took her several minutes to parse through them to find the ones she wanted. She taped them back together. They read:

 _Dear Korra,_

 _I love you._

Asami turned off the light, laid her head on the desk, and closed her eyes.

In the morning, she would find the right words to finish the letter. But for now, "I love you" was more than sufficient.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! :)**


End file.
